Sandy Leonard steps down as Monroe supervisor

MONROE — Sandy Leonard's reign on the Monroe Town Board has come to an end after 22 years.

She served ten years as councilwoman and 12 as supervisor.

The last days of her tenure found her cleaning off her desk to make way for the next supervisor, Harley Doles III.

"It's over," Leonard said, "and I am very relaxed. I don't go back and look at the negatives. I only look at the positives. I don't dwell.

Former town councilman Donald Weeks, who worked with Leonard for 20 years, described her as a"'good supervisor."

Accomplishments
Leonard said her finest hours were being fiscal responsible and keeping taxes in line.

She said is also proud of the 107 acres of open space the town acquired which, she said, will serve the community well in years to come.

"We added to the town's open space," she added, "by securing the island in Round Lake."

She declined to comment on the recent turbulent election in which she lost in a three-way race for her supervisor position.

"I believe that politically for the time being everybody involved deserves my silence," said Leonard.

She received 221 on the Republican line and 75 on the Conservation in a race that saw voter turnout at 65 percent, or just slightly less than the 2012 presidential election voting in Monroe.

As for the town's purchase of the Monroe Movie Theater which brought most residents to their boiling point, she said she could not comment because it is still under litigation.

'Nothing on the horizon'
Although there had been some political scuttlebutt that she would take the one-year left on Doles' council seat or she would head the town's park commission, Leonard said not true.

"I am relaxed about retiring," she said. "There is nothing at this point on the horizon.

"You go through it long enough," she added, "you think you've seen it all and just when get to that point something else will happen and you have seen it all.

"I enjoyed working with the public, both the positive and the negative," Leonard said. "Even with the problems that arose, I always looked at the positive and didn't dwell on the negative."

By Claudia Wysocki